Page 19 of Until Forever

“How are you?” he asks with his hands in his pockets.

I stare at the ground to pull myself together long enough to respond to his question. “I’ve been okay,” I answer after a beat. “You?”

“I’ve been great.”

I scoff, but not intentionally. “Awesome.” The word comes out with more attitude than I want, but he pretends not to notice.

That’s one thing that hasn’t changed about him, at least. He’s always been excellent at keeping his cool when I’ve clearly lost mine. It’s part of the reason we worked. We balanced each other. Where he was the outcast, always in trouble, I stayed out of it, got good grades, never so much as stole a piece of gum. But when it came to us, and my emotions got the best of me, he always managed to stay calm, never getting upset. He told me once that I was his peace. That just being around me relaxed him and nothing could ruin that. It’s funny because I remember joking about how he siphoned all of mine and often made me crazy.

I see that now. Here we are, in front of a mechanic shop, my nerves are shot, and he appears unfazed.

“So, you finally became a nurse,” he points out.

“Yeah, I stick to the things I plan,” I retort and immediately pinch my lips together.

“Ouch.” He grabs his chest with a smile, pretending to be offended. “I deserved that.”

I shake my head and sigh, letting my eyes close in the process. “No, you didn’t.”

Jasper steps back, giving me a weird look. His brows are raised, and his lips perched tightly.

“Okay, fine, you do deserve it.”

“There’s my girl,” he teases with a grin.

“We had plans, Jas, and you left. In the middle of my celebration with anote. And couldn’t bother to return any of my text messages. Now you’re here, in your tight t-shirt and with your tattoos, being nice, smiling, and making googly eyes as if nothing has changed.”

Jasper listens as I go on, with his shoulders squared and a wide-legged stance.

“First, you turn up at my work, and now you come here.” My hands are out at my sides, and I roll my neck for emphasis.

“I was invited. Harmony’s brother is my friend,” he cuts in.

“Oh, come on.” I tilt my head. “I’m not stupid, Jasper.”

“I never said you were.”

“You’re telling me you showed up tonight unaware that you’d see me?”

He kicks a pebble in the dirt and rakes a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I knew you’d be here, Harmony told me, and don’t be mad at her. But, Latoya, trust me when I say that isn’t the only reason why I came. As I said, they’re my friends. So, yes, seeing you is a bonus,” he says confidently.

I glance away, unable to look at him standing there like we’re long-lost friends.

“I was hoping we could talk, and considering you asked me to come out here, I assume that’s what you want as well.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I swallow a breath. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I’ve missed you.”

I smirk and drop my hands to my sides. “No. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to disappear for eight fucking years and come back telling me you miss me.”

He steps closer. “But I do. And if I said anything else, it’d be a lie.”

I hold a hand out, silently stopping him from getting any closer. “The only thing I want to hear from you is an explanation.”

“And I’m happy to give you one.”

I tap my foot on the ground, waiting impatiently for him to do so. “Go on.”

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